Locomotive feed water apparatus



06L 1931. E. L. SCHELLENS ET AL 1,823,474

LOCOMOTIVE FEED WATER APPARATUS Filed Jan. 3, 1930 Patented Oct. 20, 1931 1 UNITED, TATES PATENT. OFFICE;

EUGENE L. scEELLENs',OE RIDGEWOOD, AND ROBERT P. PECKETT, JR, OE E GLEWO D,

NEW JERSEY, AssIeNoRs Too-s ENGINEERING COMPANY, OE ENGLE OOD, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION F DELAWARE LooOMoTIvE FEED WATER APPARATUS This invention relates to locomotive feed water apparatus and is particularly applicable for use in connection with feed water supply systems employing what is known as an Open type feedwater heater. In systems of thiskind it is customary practice to provide a cold waterpumpwhich draws the water from the tender and delivers it to the heater andalso a hot water pump which takes the heated water vfrom the heater and delivers it into the boiler; It would be possible, of course, to substitute injectors for the pumps just described, and it will be understood that our invention is not to be limited in any wayto the type-of circulating devices which are used.

The principal Object. of theinvention is to so synchronize the operation of the two pumps as to preventthe possibility of the hot water pump from drawing on the heater at times when the water level in the heater may be low. More specifically stated it is the object of our invention to ensure prompt operation of th ecold water pump in case the level of the water in the heater is low and to delay or retard fully effective operation of the hot water pump, so that no water will be drawn from the heater until the level of the water therein is above a predetermined point.

How the foregoing objects are attained is illustrated in the preferred form in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a locomotive with our invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the Open type feed water heater employed with our invention illustrating certain details of the construction, and

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through a controlling valve used with our invention.

Examination of the drawings will show that we have equipped the locomotive l with an open type feed water heater 5 to which cold water from the tender 6 is delivered by means of the pump? drawing through the suction pipe 8 and delivering to the heater .60 through the delivery line 9.

Application filedJ'anuary 3, 1930. Serial NO; 418,280.

The heated water is withdrawn from the bottom of the heater through the outlet pipe 10 which delivers to the suction side of the hot water pump 11, the water being delivered through the pipe 12 past the-boiler check valve13 into the boiler 14; of the locomotive.

Exhaust steam from the cylinders 15 is delivered to the heater in the usual manner through the pipe 16.

Live steam for operating both of the pumps 7 and 11 is taken from the turret 17 through the pipe 18 under the control of the globe valve 19. Beyond the globe valve 19 the pipe branches and one branch 20a is connected to the heater 5 where the flow of steam therethrough is controlled by means of the piston valve 20 operated by the float 21, as clearly indicated in Fig. 2. l/Vhen the level of the water in the heater 5 is above a predetermined point, the float 21 (as shown in Figure 2) will hold the valve 20 inits upper position and thereby prevent communication between the pipe 20a'and the pipe 22, the latter pipebeing connected to the pump 7. If the level of the water in the heater 5 is below a predetermined point, the valve 20 will be moved downwardly so as to establish communication between pipes 20aand 22 so that a full supply of Operating steam can be delivered to the pump 7. Y

,A second branch 23 delivers operating steam to the hot waterpump 11, and in this branch28'is located a control valve casing 2 1' which is illustrated in an enlarged section Figure 3. The valve 'within the casing 24 normally prevents a full flow of steam through'the pipe 23, but it will be seen that there is a preliminary port '26 in'the valve 25 through whicha small amount of steam can pass to thepump 11,the flow of the steam, through the casing 24 taking place in the direotion' indicated by the arrows on Figure 3.

This small or retarded flow of steam will delivery pressure in the pipe 12 fall below a predetermined point, the valve 25 will again close so that the pump 11 Will at no time operate at its full capacity in the absence of proper pressure in the delivery line 12.

It will, therefore, be seen that we have pro= vided a feed Water heating system of the character described in which it will be impossible for the hot water pump to draw water from the heater until after the, cold Water pump has delivered suificient cold Water to the heater to raise the level therein above a predetermined point. It is, of course, possible to vary the time at which the hot Water pump Will become fully effective by varying the size of the preliminary port 26, but we prefer to construct the parts so as to cause a delay of approximately thirty seconds, because we findthat in practice this is sufiicient to enable the cold Water pump to build up a proper head of Water in the heater in case the level in the heater is low prior to'the time that the hot water pump begins to draw from the heater.

1. Locomotive feed water cll'iding in combination an open type feed water heater, steam actuated means for supplying the heater with Water,- a steam supply line for said means,- second steam actuated means for delivering heated Water from the heater to the locomotive boiler, a steam supply line for said second means, a valve for controlling the supply of steam to both of said lines, supplemental valve means in the steam supply line for the hot water delivery means adapted to restrict the flow of the steam, and means for opening said supplemental valve means so as to permit a full flow of steam to the hot water delivery means, said means for opening the supplemental valve means being actuated by the pressure developed in the hot Water delivery line.

2; In a locomotive, the combination of an open type feed water heater, a cold water pump delivering to the heater, a line for supplying operating steam to said cold water pump, a hot water pump delivering from the heaterto the boiler, a line for supplying operating steam to said hot water pump,- means in the steam supply line for the hot water pump acting to delay fully effective operation of said pump and thereby retard the building up of working pressure in the hot water delivery line, and means subject to the pressure in the hot Water delivery line actin on said retarding means to overcome the e eet thereof in order to permit fully effective operation of the hot water pump upon the attainment of a predetermined pressure the hot Water delivery line.

3. In a locomotive, the combination of an open type feed water heater, a cold water pump delivering to the heater, a line for supplying operating steam to said cold water pump, a hot water pump delivering? from the apparatus in heater to the boiler, a line for supplying operating steam to said hot water pump, means in the steam supply line for the hot Water pump acting to delay fully effective operation of said pum and thereby retard the building up of worl'ing' pressure in the hot water delivery line, means subject to the pressure in the hot Water delivery line acting on said retarding means t6 overcome the effect there of in order to permit fully effective operation of the hot water pump upon the attainment of apredetermined pressure in the hot Water delivery line, and means closing off the steam supply to the cold Water pump when the Water in the heater is above a predetermined level.

4. In a locomotive, the combination of an open type feed water heater, :1; cold water pump delivering thereto, a hot water pump delivering from the heater to the boiler, means for supplying said pumps with operating steam, a float actuated valve in the heater adaptedto prevent flow of steam to the cold water pump when the water in the ieater is above a predetermined level, and means in the steam line for the hot water pump adapted to delay or retard fully effective operation of the hot water pump after the supply means has been opened.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names.

EUGENE L, SGHELLENS; ROBERT P; PECKETT, JR. 

